Tag Archives: cakes

I have been wanting to try this cake for some time. I found it on pinterest and it looked so good. I am a sucker for chocolate mousse and strawberries. I tried it yesterday for Sunday dinner and it was a huge hit. Even for Dave who is a dessert sceptic. Making it is a little time consuming and mine didn’t quite look like the picture–a little more rustic, but well worth the time.

Cake:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup + 2 TB. flour

1/4 cup +2 TB cocoa

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup boiling water

Mousse:

6 TB unsalted butter

12 oz. good quality semisweet chocolate

3.5 oz. white chocolate

1 3/4 cup whipping cream

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. unflavored gelatin

2.5 TB. cool water

2 quarts strawberries

Alternate Mousse. I did not like the recipe above as well as my go to mousse, but some may not like the raw eggs in the recipe. If you want to try that one, go to Rocky Road Cake and follow that recipe.

Ganache:

2/3 cup cream

5.5 oz. semisweet chocolate

I would double this as I did not think there was enough to pour over and make smooth

Chocolate Curls:

3.5 oz. semisweet chocolate

1 TB shortening.

To make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350. , grease a 9 inch round baking and line the bottom with paper. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla.

Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup boiling water and mix until combined. Bake for 25-35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and place on wire racks upside down.

To make the Mouse

In a small dish, soften 2 tsp. gelatin in 2.5 TB water, set aside. In a heat proof bowl, combine chopped semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate and butter. Melt over double boiler until smooth. Set aside and cool. Heat softened gelatin and stir to dissolve and free of lumps. Set aside. Mix 1 3/4 cup whipping cream and vanilla until medium peaks form, gradually adding powdered sugar. Mix in gelatin. Pour a little of the whipping cream into chocolate to lighten it and then add back to whipped cream, folding in until incorporated.

To make the ganache:

Heat the cream and pour over the chocolate, mixing until smooth.

How to assemble the cake:

Place the cake into a 9 inch spring form pan. Spoon some mousse over the cake (about ¼ inch). Cut stem off strawberries and slice in half vertically. Place around the edges of the cake with the pointed edge up. Spoon or pipe the remaining mousse over the cake. Place in refrigerator until set. I added more strawberries over the top of the cake before adding the mousse. After set, pour over the ganache and place back in refrigerator until set.

In the meantime you will make the curls by melting the chocolate and the shortening and pouring it on to a cookie sheet. Spread thinly and place in the freezer for about 6-8 minutes. Take out and using a small spatula, start at the bottom and scrape the chocolate into curls about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Place on top of the cake and add strawberries if desired.

When ready to serve, run a knife around the edges and lift out of spring form pan. Marvel at your masterpiece!!!!

I am going to be going a little hog wild the next little while as I have so many things to post. I have been so busy the last month getting ready for Christmas and enjoying having Jace and Krystal here that I have not posted anything for quite awhile. I have been taking pictures and saving them, knowing that when things slowed down, I would get around to updating things. Jace and Krystal left this morning and I am still unable to talk to anyone without breaking down and sobbing I have such a hard time when Christmas is over anyway, but throw their departure into the mix, and I am a candidate for rather heavy doses of medication or may a medically induced coma

. I had this cake recipe recommended to me by my hairdresser, Christie. I made it the other night and OH MY HECK!!! This is the most moist cake I have ever made and the frosting is amazing. I am a real critic when it comes to frosting. I can not take the real sweet ones or the ones that taste like they are mostly Crisco and leave that coating of fat on the roof of your mouth. You know what I am talking about. But believe me, I am never making any other cake again and I will not be using the boxed chocolate cake mixes after tasting this one.

I am putting the recipe just as it was written, with the explanation that we do not drink coffee so I do not have it setting around. I used Postum. If you happen to be LDS, you will know what this is. Also I had purchased a Kahlua flavored syrup from Standard Restaurant supple (if you haven’t been there, make this a destination). It does not contain alcohol nor coffee, but is just a flavoring. I used this in the frosting in place of the coffee granules. Try it you will love it!!!

This recipe comes from The Barefoot Contessa as does the picture because I forgot to take a picture of mine prior to it being devoured.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake. (make sure it is completely cooled as this recipe has a lot of butter in it and if the cake is warm at all, it will melt and lose that wonderful whipped look and taste.